Athens News Agency: News in English, 08-08-29

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] PASOK criticism over economy, tax policy

[02] Athens pans latest FYROM quip

[03] KKE on Afghanistan

[04] Alavanos meets GSEBE

[05] Scientist on new observatory

[01] PASOK criticism over economy, tax policy

He also reiterated PASOK's call for the government to withdraw the economic measures it has announced.

Papaconstantinou added that "this situation did not come as a surprise, but it is the result of the actions by the New Democracy party from the very first month of its governance in 2004."

In another development, PASOK secretary Yiannis Ragoussis said "the citizens who voted for New Democracy are absolutely justified in being disappointed and in feeling betrayed. Greeks want to live in a fair society and not in a present-day Greece of arbitrariness and of a tax pogrom, in present-day Greece where the large real estate tax is being replaced by a tax that will be paid by all the Greeks for their property."

[02] Athens pans latest FYROM quip

Spokesman George Koumoutsakos underlined, during a regular press conference, that this development "epitomises the unproductive infatuation (by FYROM's current leadership) with a completely warped and extremely distortive rendering of the past."

"At the same time, it is apparent that there is an inability to meet the challenges and needs of building a better future in this region. This, in fact, is apparent from the obstructive and undermining tactics that have been employed throughout the recent period by the leadership in the neighbouring country," Koumoutsakos said.

In a related development, Greece's negotiator in the still resolved "name issue", Amb. Adamantios Vassilakis, on Thursday briefed the ambassadors of several countries on the latest developments in the dispute. Envoys from EU and NATO member-states, as well as the ambassadors from China and Russia were briefed by Vassilakis.

[03] KKE on Afghanistan

KKE deputy and political bureau member Spyros Halvatzis, in a meeting with Meimarakis, said that his party was particularly worried as the peoples were paying the price of the escalation of the endo-imperialistic differences and antagonisms,

He said that the minister shared the KKE's concerns, and had assured him that all the necessary measures were being taken for the health and physical well-being of all Greek soldiers.

Halvatzis further said that the defence minister had ruled out the prospect of sending additional forces to Afghanistan.

Caption:ANA-MPA file photo of Communist Party of Greece (KKE) Secretary General Aleka Papariga.

[04] Alavanos meets GSEBE

Alavanos appealed to SME owners, and even to those belonging to the New Democracy party, as he said, "who faced with innocence and credulity its so-called policy statements and call on them to take the great step and be present in the wave that is being created for a new policy in our country."

Caption: ANA-MPA file photo of SYRIZA Parliamentary group leader Alekos Alavanos.

[05] Scientist on new observatory

The Grevena prefecture is contributing funds for the projects.

"Our purpose is for children in our region and from all of Greece to access the telescope via the internet; to select the object they want, to make the suitable observations, to process the data on their personal computer, and the next day, for there to be a debate in class with their teacher. It is something original, which has not been done anywhere else.

"Furthermore, it will be used by amateur astronomers around the world as well as professional astronomers from the universities of our country and abroad. Its positioning on Orliaka is one of the best in Europe, given that it has the least light pollution and the clearest sky," Economou said.

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